Chuck vs The Epilogue
by Michael66
Summary: Sometimes bedtime stories can take on a life of their own. My version of what happens after Series Finale.


**A/N:** Posted - 21 May 2012

Summary: Sometimes bedtime stories can take on a life of their own. My version of what happens after Series Finale.

Many thanks to Laurie for the beta!

* * *

_**Jan 1, 2016 - Early Evening **_

"Mommy, tell me the one where you met Daddy!" Stephanie pleaded. The little four year old sat by her father on the floor, her knees up against her chest. Her nightshirt, one of her father's old t-shirts, was pulled over her legs and down to her ankles.

Her mother had just come into the living room carrying two cups of coffee, "Young lady, it's so far past your bed time, the sun is going to get confused."

Her husband was sitting on the couch holding their sleeping new born son and took the proffered coffee. At first he had a slightly confused look on his face and then he smiled. "Actually, that does make sense." He took a sip and put the cup down on the coffee table. He looked over at his wife and objected to the insinuation he saw in her eyes, "Don't look at me, this is all your fault!"

"Okay, it is," she conceded with a huff. "I should never have agreed to another story." Sarah settled into the couch next to Chuck. "But I prefer the way you tell it." The memories of her first five years with her future husband had, to a large extent, returned. They'd come back in spurts and usually out of context resulting in the occasional opening of old wounds followed by nights on the couch.

But the love was always there.

As was Chuck's patience in the retelling of their story.

The little girl's eyes got wide as she whined, "Mommy, his stories always have silly space ships and cowboys in them."

Her mother snorted. "But you do like the one with space ships and the princess, right?" She sat herself down on the couch next to her husband.

The little girl nodded emphatically, "I do, but I want to hear the one about how you met Daddy!"

"Okay, okay." He cleared his throat. "It was a dark and stormy night," he started but was quickly interrupted by his little girl.

"That's not right, Daddy!" She stomped both her feet. "Make Daddy tell it right, Mommy!"

Her mother rolled her eyes, "I think you'll have to tell her the right version." She leaned over, gave him a kiss and whispered, "But keep it clean. And don't forget, some of this is classified."

He smirked. "Moi?" He left the other half of her whisper unanswered. He was about to open his mouth again, when a woman's voice was heard from the kitchen.

"Don't you dare start without me!" Alex ambled out of the kitchen with her bearded husband in tow. "Get me a cushion for my feet, hon!" She slowly lowered herself into the armchair as one of her twins gave her a kick. "They're kicking again, hon."

The expectant mother's husband slid the small footstool closer to her feet, lifted her legs and slid in a cushion. "Here you go, sweetie. Whew, I still can't believe it. Twins!"

"Shhhhh. Daddy is trying to tell me a story."

"Sweetheart, I'm sorry." Morgan gave Chuck a look that seemed to say _we knew this day would come._

"Your uncle, over there, saw her first. 'Stop the presses!' he said. I was carrying on about something silly..."

His wife interrupted him with a smirk, "Wasn't it something about Vicky Vale?"

"Batman!" squealed Stephanie. She climbed up onto the couch and into her mother's lap. She put her head against her mother's chest. A mommy and her miniature copy.

"A valkyrie," added her uncle. He pronounced it correctly, with the 'w', 'walkyrie', not so far from 'walker'. He proceeded with his favorite line from the poem, "'Helmeted valkyries came down from the sky, the noise of spears grew loud, they protected the prince'." He blushed as he looked at the stunned looks of the adult faces around the room. "What? Alex is making me go to night school. Can't I at least enjoy it?"

"Uh… sure…" he cocked his eyebrow, "Sure, little buddy. You just got a little heavy there." He looked at Morgan for a second and a huge grin grew on his face. His mind started to wander. He felt Sarah's hand on his neck and realized that he was gone for a while. "Where was I? Oh, yes, Vicky Vale from Batman I explained to the prettiest girl..." he looked at his daughter, who was already half asleep, and corrected himself, "... the second prettiest girl I ever saw in my life."

.

_**Jan 1, 2036 - Early Evening **_

She closed the door behind her and called out to her father, with a tone of desperation, "Daaad!" Her baby, Ellie, not yet a year old, had been crying for some fifteen minutes and was inconsolable.

"We're all in here, Stephanie!" Sarah smiled as she came into the foyer. "Well, they're all in the living room." Her hair was up in that familiar ponytail. The gray was almost not noticeable against her blonde hair. Chuck, on the other hand, had striking streaks of gray throughout his hair. He had followed behind his wife, waiting for the arrival of his latest grandchild, Ellie.

His eyes grew wider as he commanded, "Give her to me!" His granddaughter was laughing before she had even fully left her mother's grasp. "Hey kiddo, do you want to hear how I met your Omi?"

Sarah and Stephanie watched Chuck as he walked away, back towards the living room.

"Mom, how the heck does he do that?"

"Strong is he with the force," Sarah snickered.

"Oh, Mom! You're as bad as he is!"

.

_**Jan 1, 2061 - Early Morning**_

He awoke, feeling tired and old. With his eyes closed, he rolled over and felt for her. She wasn't there so he called out for her, "Sarah?"

"I'm right here, Chuck." Sarah smiled at her husband of fifty years and crawled back into bed and curled up next to him.

"That was some party last night. I think I had a little too much to drink." He opened his eyes and looked into two bright blue eyes. They still took his breath away. He brought a hand up to her cheek and traced a small scar, the result of a collision with a fire truck. Their son's toy fire truck. He pulled himself up on an elbow, leaned over her and kissed the scar. He pushed her gray hair behind her ear and nibbled. Other than her gray hair, she could have passed for a fifty year old. A very hot fifty year old.

When Chuck had moved down to her neck, Sarah teased him, "Too bad they couldn't have developed something for that hangover, huh?"

He pulled back from the spot he was working on her neck and gave her a quizzical look. "Hangover?" And then he remembered and smiled, "Oh yeah. Well, you're my cure. Always have been, always will be."

As corny as it sounded, it still stole her breath. She pushed him away and sat up. His cure? He had been her cure. He had saved her. So many times and in so many ways in their life together. Maybe it was seeing all of their children and children's children gathering in town for the family reunion that made her so emotional.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" His hand was up on her back, rubbing.

She sucked in a huge breath and chased away her looming tears. "Okay? I'm more than okay." She looked back and down on him and laughed. _God, he looks so young. Great-grandparents?_ She still couldn't believe it. She rolled a bit and brought her leg over his hips and buried her face in his neck.

…

Ellie's daughter and Casey's son had developed the life extension therapies that were widely used throughout the world. Most of the money had been plowed back into _theVillage_ and was used to fund the manufacture and distribution to those unable to afford the process. The process itself was based on herbal supplements derived from South American plants discovered by Devon in the remaining rain forests. Yup, everybody drank his shakes now.

The process added at least thirty years to a person's life and in most cases the rejuvenation made them look even younger than they were when they started the regimen. However, there were two issues that couldn't be resolved; premature graying and an increased libido.

Sarah tried to fool Chuck with hair dyes.

Then one year, Sarah had dressed up as a witch for Halloween and wore a gray wig. Chuck had asked her to leave it on when she had kissed him. It was like cheating on her with her. He told her she needn't dye her hair for him; they had earned every single gray hair and scar.

With one less thing to do she went gray. Besides, Sarah still had that black wig, along with a few less memorable ones. She drew the line at brunette, however.

As for the increased libido, who would have noticed with them? They'd been doing it like rabbits since before they got married so many years ago.

…

They were lying in a sweaty bunny heap when there was a knock on their bedroom door, "Omi? Opi? Are you coming to breakfast?" It was Hannah, one of their many grand kids. And she'd given them their first great-grand-daughter two years previously.

They looked at each other and could swear they heard laughter. "We'll be out in a minute!" Chuck called out.

Sarah gave him a final kiss and wished him a Happy New Year. "Whose turn is it this year?"

Chuck laughed, "Who do you think?"

"Oh, right, Hannah. She couldn't wait for today to come and play the narrator." She smiled and asked, "Do you ever get tired of it?"

"Are you kidding? We're the stars!"

It had started out as bed-time stories for their first born, Stephanie. A simple question got the ball rolling; "How did you meet Mommy?" It became one of those family traditions that got bigger and sillier every year. But the kids all loved it. And truth be told, so did he. He ran his hand through his own gray hair then tapped the tip of her nose, with a 'meep'.

Chuck finished dressing and had tied his second shoe, stood up and looked over to his wife and sighed. He took a few quick steps towards his wife and put his arms around her.

"After, big boy, after! They're all waiting." Sarah fixed a few of Chuck's more unruly curls and gave him another kiss. She took his hand and led him out the door.

"I'm scared, it's awfully quiet," deadpanned Sarah.

A sly grin came to his face, "Kid, would you like to show them that us old folk still have the moves?"

"Whatcha got in mind, Butch?" Sarah's eyes twinkled as they got into spy mode.

"Follow me."

Walking on the balls of their feet, they made their way back into the bedroom and towards the door of the balcony. Chuck grabbed two belts from his closet as they quietly made their way out the door. Once outside, Chuck hopped up on the balcony ledge and grabbed hold of the zip line that led to the grounds two stories below. Sarah took Chuck's proffered hand and jumped up beside him.

"Seriously? A zip line?" She shook her head.

"Yeah, they undid me once and I vowed to never let it happen again." He smirked, "Actually, I figured you never know when you might need to make a quick get-away." He gestured, "After you, Kid!"

Sarah nodded, took a belt from Chuck and looped it over the zip line. She gave him a quick kiss and jumped. She slid down to the ground and looked back up at Chuck. He jumped and was standing by her side a few seconds later.

He gave her a quick peck and asked, "Frontal assault or sneak attack."

"Sneak attack. They'll never expect it."

The caterers had done a wonderful job with the tent. It had to hold the entire Team Bartowski. Between the four families, across four generations, there were over a hundred people gathered in that tent. Chuck and Sarah could hear the occasional squeal of a child and a shush from a parent.

Chuck stopped and listened for a second. He marveled at how the family had grown in fifty years. He read the sign hung on the outside of the tent; 'Team Bartowski Family Reunion, 2061'. He smiled and turned to Sarah, "I hope they keep doing this after we're gone."

Sarah looked at Chuck and smiled. "Come on, we have a mission to complete!"

They worked their way towards the back of the tent and spotted Casey near the woods to the left of the house with a pair of binoculars trained on the front door and Morgan watching the back door from the tent.

Sarah smirked "Going out the balcony was a stroke of genius!"

Chuck merely smiled.

They slipped through a flap at the very rear of the tent, only to be discovered by their great-grand-daughter Sarah, the spitting image of her namesake. "Uppy uppy Omi-Omi!" She wanted to be picked up. Sarah held out her arm and the little girl jumped up, caught her Omi-Omi's arm and climbed up like a little monkey. Sarah pulled the little girl up to her chest and put a finger to her lips to hush the girl, but she was too late.

Heads began turning immediately with gasps and cheers coming out for the couple in waves.

"Never mind John, they're here," a dejected Morgan said into his old-fashioned earwig. He winced at the swearing he must have been hearing. He smiled, "We'll catch them next year!"

John Casey, aka Alex Coburn, Marine Colonel (ret.), NSA Special Agent (ret.), great-grand-father (act.), huffed as he entered the tent. He let out a low rumbling growl and pointed his cane at Chuck, "Bartowski!"

An amused chorus of 'Yes?'" went up and Casey grunted.

He deadpanned, "A hundred Bartowskis, a hundred times the fun!"

Chuck walked up to the older man and gave him a big hug. "Happy New Year, John!"

"Happy New Year, moron!"

"Ahem," came a voice from the small stage towards the front of the tent. "Breakfast is served."

And the babbling ensued. Apparently, it was a very strong trait inherited by brown and blonde haired, male and female, jock and nerd alike. There were name cards in place at all the tables, but no one seemed to care as they sat wherever there was an empty seat. The catering staff kept the pancakes flowing until there were no more takers and the cacophony of conversations from a hundred strong filled the tent.

Sarah was still holding her little great-grand-daughter when she began to squirm. "Mommy!" Sarah looked up to the stage to find the props being arranged and the object of the little girl's squeals. Her mother, Hannah, this year's narrator, was getting things ready. Sarah put the little girl down and watched as she ran towards her mother.

She stood and looked for her husband. After so many years, he could still sense her search and looked for her. They found each other at the same instant. He gave her that smile that still made her ache. The wattage reduced a bit and his eyes asked, "Ready?" She nodded.

He took her hand as she passed his way, both looking for their third in this little play. The bearded one had sensed their arrival and turned to greet them with a smile. Sarah took his hand and the three of them jumped up onto the slightly raised platform. Sarah gave Morgan a peck, then turned to Chuck and gave him a deep kiss. There was applause and exclaimed "Ahs" along with a few younger voices protesting, "Eewww!"

Hannah stepped forward to the edge of the stage and shooed the three of them 'backstage'. She shook her head as she walked over to the podium; a glass stand set on chrome legs. There was a curtain forming a circle in the center of the stage. She looked out at the family and smiled, "Welcome to the 2061 Team Bartowski Family Reunion!"

A cheer rose from the audience and slowly subsided as Hannah raised her hands for their attention. "Without further ado…"

"God bless, sweetheart!" was heard from backstage.

Hannah rolled her eyes and with a grin she turned to look behind her at the curtain, "Thank-you, Opi." She looked back out to the family and cleared her throat, "I have a story I want to share with you all. But it's all hush-hush." She leaned over the podium and looked at each of her grand-parent's smaller grand children and smiled at her own little Sarah, "So, can you all keep a secret?" She held her index finger straight up and put it to her lips.

There were half dozen serious faces nodding back at her.

"Good." She smiled and continued, "It's how your Omi-Omi met Opi-Opi." She pulled a stack of index cards from her back pocket and pretended to read from the top one. Pretended because all of the cards were blank.

She cleared her throat and started. "It was a dark and stormy night…"

Several of the children objected. "That's not right!" "That's wrong!"

Hannah looked back down at her cards and frowned, "Oh dear. Quite right. These are my notes for the next chapter of my fan fiction story." She made a show of it by tossing the cards over her shoulder. As they fluttered to the ground, the curtain rose up.

The prop was a simple affair, a bar cart, just under four feet high. On the front of the bar was a sign that read, 'Nerd Herd'. Behind the bar/counter was 'Chuck', played by Sarah, dressed as a Nerd Herder with a brown, curly-haired wig. 'He' made busy with paperwork from a folder. In front of the counter was 'Morgan', played by Alex, dressed as green shirt employee of the Buy More. Her costume was completed with a dark full beard and wig.

"Stop the presses!" _Morgan_ said to _Chuck_. "Who is that?"

_Chuck_ was half-heartedly listening to _Morgan_, giving him a half glance up from his paperwork and began rapping "Vicki Vale…"

The audience erupted with "Vicki Vale, Vicki Vale, Vick-uh-Vicki Vale, Vickity, Vickity, Vicki Vale, Vick-uh-Vicki Vale."

Sarah stepped out from behind the counter and swung her arms up into the air as she looked out towards her family to encourage them.

'Sarah', played by Chuck, stepped out onto the stage wearing a wig of long blonde hair, a bra made from coconut shells and hip high boots with stiletto heels. Who knew they made boots like that in a 14 wide. The immediate cat-calls and hoots of laughter made Chuck turn a bright red.

Sarah ran over to Chuck and grabbed him into a hug.

"Hey! Hey! We haven't even met yet. Get back there behind the counter." He waited for the laughter to die down and for Sarah to take her mark. He grabbed the coconut shell bra and gave it a boost up and straightened his hair. He moved forward towards the counter to deliver his line in a falsetto, "I hope I'm not interrupting."

"No, not at all." _Chuck_ claimed. In her best Chuck impersonation, Sarah stuttered, "Uh…that's…uh…it's from Batman."

_Sarah_ gave _Chuck_ a wry smile. "'Cause that makes it better…"

_Morgan_ leaning on the counter, moved closer to _Chuck_, "Hi, uh, hey. I'm Morgan. This is Chuck."

"Wow, I didn't think people still named their kids Chuck," she teased. "Or Morgan for that matter."

"My parents are sadists and carnival freaks found him in a dumpster," _Chuck_ deadpanned as he pointed to _Morgan_.

"But they raised me as one of their own," _Morgan_ quipped.

* * *

**A/N:** I've started to write again. Work has been horrible and seeing your ideas burn up across the screen can take the wind out of your sails. There are a number of plot issues that need to be re-worked but I'm getting there. In the meantime, I've tackled a few one-shots and participated in Jaytoyz's free for all; 'Sarah Walker Broken Beyond Repair The Challenge'. Why don't you give it a read. Maybe you can add a few pieces to the puzzle.


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